Never Again

I will never have this moment again.

I will never have this day again.

It's gone.

I've been thinking lately about how easy it is to look to the future. Especially as a college student, it's easy to look ahead and say "When I get out of school, I'll do such and such." Or "When such and such happens, I'll work on this." Always looking to the future, always waiting for tomorrow.

Hey, there's a song about that! If you listened to Stellar Kart a few years ago, you know what I'm talking about ;D The lyrics go like this:

Always waiting for tomorrow
Always waiting for the new to come around
Still waiting for tomorrow
Always waiting for anything but now

Now, don't get me wrong, it IS important to plan ahead, to look ahead and to have a goal in life!
BUT it is really easy to be so excited for the future, living so much for tomorrow, that we miss out on what God is doing now.

I think it's important to have a dream and a goal and to know where God is calling us. But let's not miss what God has for us now.

Because we will never have this moment again. You will never be exactly who you are, in this very place, in this very moment, in this very situation, with the same people, with the same emotions, with the same thoughts all together, ever again. Today will never happen again. Similar days may happen. But you will never have today back.

I'm reading The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis right now. If you don't know what that is, it's a series of letters written from the perspective of one demon to another, concerning the tempting methods of a man. There is a chapter in which the demon writing gives advice to the demon receiving the letter, concerning how to get his human to view time.

"...the Present is the point at which time touches eternity...Our business is to get them away from the eternal, and from the Present. With this in view, we sometimes tempt a human...to live in the Past...It is far better to make them live in the Future...it is unknown to them, so that in making them think about it we make them think of unrealities...To be sure, the Enemy (God) wants men to think of the Future too--just so much as is necessary for now planning the actions of justice or charity which will probably be their duty tomorrow...He does not want men to give the future their hearts, to place their treasure in it. We do...we want a man hag-ridden by the Future...We want a whole race perpetually in pursuit of the rainbow's end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy now, but always using as mere fuel wherewithal to heap the altar of the future every real gift which is offered them in the present."

This was sobering to me, because it made me consider--how much time do I waste worrying about what's ahead or thinking so much about my future, that I forget to make the best opportunity of what God has placed before me now.

I go to a fabulous school. I have amazing people in my life. I get chances to lead worship, both at my church and my school. I get to learn daily more about God and people and music. I get to live here where I am, with these people around me, doing the things that I get to do now.

And I will never have this unique blend of time, place, people and opportunities that I now have, ever again. Tomorrow will be different. The next season of my life will be different.

So how am I living now?